Welcome

Welcome to the Yankton Community Library’s “1000 Books Before Kindergarten” program. Through this program, we encourage you to read 1,000 books to your child before they enter Kindergarten. By reading together, you can help your child learn early literacy skills that are essential for learning. The program is self-paced and lets you decide how often and how long you read.

Sign Up

Beanstack is the mobile-friendly website we use to facilitate the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program. Sign up is quick and easy! The website will allow you to take pictures of the ISBN's on the back of the book and log your child's books quickly. It'll even tell you when your child has earned prizes and offer book recommendations. Sign up at http://cityofyankton.beanstack.org.

Start Early

Reading 1000 books may sound nearly impossible; however, reading just three books a day to your child will allow you to complete the program in less than a year! If you read five books a week to a one-year-old, you will complete the program before kindergarten. Starting at age two, you will need to read seven books per week; age three, ten books per week and age four, 20 books per week.  

Easy As 1-2-3!

1. Come to the library often and check out books with your child. Allow them to help with the selection of books.
2. Read books to your child. Books may be read and recorded as many times as you read them. The books do not all have to be read at home. Books read to children at library story times, day care centers, preschools, or by others may also be counted. Record each title in Beanstack or use a coloring logs. Download a coloring log here! 
3. Incentive prizes will be given to your child after 100,250, 300, 400, 500, 600, 750, 800, 900, and 1,000 books have been read. Be sure and stop in and let us know how things are going and have your child pick up each prize as it is earned.
   
   

Questions? Stop by the library any time and ask for help or call 668-5275.  

“Children take their first critical steps toward learning to read and write very early in life.  Literacy doesn’t begin at kindergarten—or even in preschool. Babies respond to adults talking to them; 1-year-olds point to pictures in books; and 2-year-olds chant nursery rhymes. These and other first steps lay the foundations for literacy.”  
--National Association for the Education of Young Children
 

Contact

Yankton Community Library 
515 Walnut Street
Yankton, South Dakota 57078
Telephone: 605-668-5275
Fax: 605-668-5277

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